Detachable leg rest for drums



July 4, 1961 A. R. CASAVANT DETACHABLE LEG REST FOR DRUMS Filed Sept. 24, 1959 INVENTOR S T H N N A m v w M A A 0 Mr R T R 50V 8 L A W Y B 4 5 n United States Patent 2,990,745 DETACHABLE LEG REST FOR DRUMS Albert R. Casavant, Falling Water Road, Hixson, Tenn. Filed Sept. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 842,050 3 (Cl. 84-421) This invention generally relates to a supporting device for musical instruments and more particularly to an improved leg rest for parade drums.

The primary object of the'present invention resides in the provision of a drum supporting leg rest which serves to effectively reduce vibrational impact of a parade drum on the leg of a musician without retarding mobility while marching.

Another importantobject of this invention is the provision of an improved detachable leg rest which may be easily and quickly secured and removed from the instrument and angularly adjusted to a desired playing position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a drum supporting leg rest of the above character which is extremely simple in construction, thoroughly reliable and effective in operation, neat and attractive in appearance, universally adaptable to the physical requirements of the musician, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and the entire scope of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood,however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent as the description herein progresses.

Reference being made to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a drum supporting leg rest constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the drum supporting leg rest detachably secured to a drum illustrated on a reduced scale; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein for the purposes of illustration, there is described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral generally represents an annular base plate suitably formed fromsheet metal, plastic material or the like with curved outer end portions 12'and'14 which serve to define a leg embracing member'of substantially "U-shaped configuration. Secured to the inner face of base plate 10 is a resilient pad, not shown of sponge rubber or similar resilient material which generally conforms to the U-shaped contour of the leg embracing member and is arranged to engage the drummers leg immediately above the knee in order to prevent slippage and improve comfort. Additionally, the peripheral edge 16 of the base plate 10 has been bevelled or flared outwardly, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, so as to minimize any discomfort which would otherwise occur if any sharp edges were allowed to bear against the musicians leg.

The supporting base plate 10 is retained in stationary alignment with the drumrners leg by means of an adjustable leg strap 18 detachably secured at each end to the outer end portions 12 and 14 of the leg embracing member. Leg strap 18 preferably is formed from flexible material, such as elastic cotton fiber webbing, to permit movement of the leg while retaining the supporting base plate in stationary position. In this connection, a pair of conventional buckles or adjustable fasteners 20 and 22 are utilized to detachably secure each end of leg strap 18 to the related shoulder or car portions 24 and 26 that extend outwardly in a forward direction from the end portions 12 and 14, respectively, of base plate 10. In this way, the length of leg strap 18 may be appropriately varied to meet the requirements of the wearer by first suitably sliding the same through buckles 20 and 22 until the desired adjustment is obtained. It is apparent that this adjustment may be performed either before or after the supporting base plate has been secured to the leg of the drummer.

Adjustably secured to the frontal portion of base plate 10 is a detachable clamping member 28 having a pair of oppositely disposed resilient arms 30 and 32 which are joined together by means of a central flange portion 34. Preferably, arms 30 and 32 are formed from resilient material, such as spring steel, flexible plastic or the like in order to effectively reduce the vibrational impact of the drum 42 on the leg of the drummer while marching. However, it should be understood, that resilient arms 30 and 32 may also be integrally formed from a unitary piece of resilient material without affecting the function of the clamping member 28. Each of the resilient arms 30 and 32 are curved or bowed inwardly toward one another intermediate their ends to form an outwardly extending loop. The outer terminal ends of each arm are flared outward to form separate shoulders 36 and 38, respectively. Each of the shoulders are arranged to detachably engage a conventional connecting brace or strut 40 circumferentially spaced along the outer periphery of drum 42.

ing member 28, an adjustable locking member 44 is employed. As shown in FIGURE 3, locking member 44 in cludes a pair of relatively movable friction members 46 and 48 which are respectively secured to the supporting base plate 10 and the central flange portion 34 of clamping member 28 in any well-known manner. Friction members 46 and 48 preferably are serrated along their opposed outer faces in such a manner as to define a'pluing member 28 in relation to the supporting base plate 10, adjustment knob 54 must be backed-off sufliciently to disengage the interlocking teeth 50 and permit angular rotation of friction member 48 relative to member 46.

After'clamping member 28 has been rotated to the de-' sired angular position, knob 54 is re-tightened causing the complementary teeth 50 to re-engage and prevent any subsequent movement between members 46 and 48. Heretofore, conventional leg rests tended to cause the drummer considerable discomfort and soreness due primarily to the rigidity of the leg engaging support. Such a support would transmit the impact of vibrational shock directly to the drummers leg, Whereas in the present invention, a substantial portion of the shock and weight of the drum is absorbed by the resilient clamping member 28. Moreover, in a conventional leg rest for parade drums, the leg engaging member thereof was not securely fastened to the leg of the drummer, and would accordingly hinder his mobility while marching since it was free to move outwardly away from the leg during each step. However, in the present invention, resilient arms 30 and 32 serve to dampen or filter out any vibrational shock While the leg strap effectively stabilizes the leg engaging member in playing position without causing any discomfort to the drummer. These improvements are extremely significant, particularly with regard to parade mobility, since the exaggerated movement of the drummers leg, While marching in cadence, would otherwise tend to constantly vary the positional alignment of the drum relative to the body of the player. Additionally, the aforementioned resilient arms also facilitate attachment of the leg rest to the drum without requiring any additional external connections or couplings on the instrument.

In operation, the drummer will first connect each of the resilient arms 30 and 32 to a related drum brace 40 by flexing the arms inwardly toward each other to a position Where the outwardly flared shoulders 36 and 38 will engage a related drum brace 40 when the force on the arms is released. In this way, the clamping member 28 will be detachably retained in supporting position until subsequently released by inward fiexure of the resilient arms 30 and 32. Next, the drummer will back-off adjustment knob 54 sufiiciently so that the inter-meshing teeth 50 will become disengaged to permit rotational adjustment of the supporting base plate 10. After the base plate is securely clamped to the musicians leg above the knee, by means of leg strap 18, adjustment knob 54 is then re-tightened causing interfitting teeth 50 to re-engage whereby the instrument will be held in proper playing position. From the foregoing, it is apparent that the angular position of the drum can be subsequently varied to accommodate the comfort of the musician without either detaching the clamping member 28 from the drum or releasing leg strap 18. Additionally, clamping member 28 may be easily removed and quickly resecured to a conventional snare or tenor drum without requiring any subsequent readjustment of the leg rest by merely flexing the resilient arms 30 and 32 toward each other, as previously described, so that the outwardly flared shoulders 36 and 38 will register with a related drum brace 40.

It is also to be understood that, although several preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown in the drawings and described with considerable particularity in the foregoing specification, the invention is not limited to the specific details of construction, shown and described, but includes all modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

I claim:

1. A detachable leg rest for a parade drum comprising, a base plate adapted to engage the drummers leg immediately above the knee, a leg strap detachably connected at each end to the outer terminal portions of said base plate for securing the same to the drummers leg, resilient clamping means carried by said base plate for detachably securing the same to said drum, said resilient clamping means serving to efiectively absorb any vibrational shock transmitted from said drum to the drummers leg, and locking means for adjustably connecting said clamping means to said base plate in difierent angular positions.

2. A detachable leg rest for a parade drum having a plurality of circumferentially arranged braces comprising, a base plate having curved outer end portions which serve to define a substantially U-shaped leg embracing member, an adjustable leg strap connected at each end to said end portions, a resilient clamping member carried by said base plate for detachably securing the same to said drum, said clamping member including an elongated resilient arm which extends outwardly from a cen tral portion in opposite directions, said resilient arm being symmetrically curved adjacent each end to define a pair of opposed annular loops, the outer terminal end portion of each loop being flared outwardly to define a connecting shoulder portion adapted to detachably engage a related drum brace, a locking member for adjustably connecting said clamping member to said base plate, said locking member including a pair of oppositely disposed frictional elements respectively secured to the central portion of said base plate and said clamping member, and a releasable locking bolt for forcing said elements into frictional engagement with one another whereby said clamping member will be retained in a selected angular position relative to said leg embracing member.

3. A detachable leg rest for a parade drum having a plurality of circumferentially arranged braces comprising, a base plate having curved outer end portions which serve to define a substantially U-shaped leg embracing member, an adjustable leg strap detachably connected at each end to said end portions, a resilient clamping member carried by said base plate for detachably securing the same to said drum, said clamping member including a pair of oppositely disposed resilient arms which extend outwardly from one another, each of said resilient arms being curved intermediate their ends toward each other to define an annular loop, the outer terminal end portion of each arm being flared outwardly to define a connecting shoulder portion adapted to detachably engage a related drum brace, a locking member for adjustably connecting said clamping member to said base plate, said locking member including a pair of oppositely disposed frictional elements respectively secured to the central portion of said base plate and said clamping member, and a releasable locking bolt for forcing said elements into frictional engagement with one another whereby said clamping member will be retained in a selected angular position relative to said leg embracing member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 241,195 Cubley May 10, 1881 254,143 Knapp Feb. 28, 1882 373,873 Wurlitzer Nov. 29, 1887 1,845,338 Querna Feb. 16, 1932 2,552,844 Clinchens May 15, 1951 2,660,661 Dupler Nov. 24, 1953 

